Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 2020 – Stage 1 [LAST 20 KM]

February 5, 2020

Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 2020 – Stage 1 – Castelló – Vila-Real : 180 km

The 70th edition of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana (English: Tour of the Valencian Community) was held from 6 to 10 February 2019. It was run over five stages, of which one was an time trial, covering a total distance of 647 km. It was a 2.1 event on the 2019 UCI Europe Tour. The race was run entirely in the autonomous community of Valencia, starting in Orihuela and finishing in Valencia.

Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) won the opening stage of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, edging out Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-QuickStep) in the sprint to the line in Vila-Real.

Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) rounded out the podium in third place.

The stage, always likely to come down to a sprint finish, was controlled all day by Deceuninck-QuickStep and, on the run-in to the finish, the Belgian squad were still in control of the situation. Dutch champion Jakobsen was the first of the fast men to jump, deposited right on time by his team.

He looked all set for victory as he flew into the closing metres, holding off the likes of Kristoff and Ben Swift (Team Ineos) with relative ease. However, having sheltered in the wheels for a little longer, it was Groenewegen who came up the outside, timing his dash to the line to perfection and grabbing the win on his first race day of the season.

“I think we were very strong so thanks to my team,” Groenewegen said after the finish.

“It was also very hectic in the finale, but I was in a position to sprint. We take the first victory for the team so it’s really great. Everyone is fresh in the first races, so if you can win the first one it’s really nice.

“I think the shape is really good, the team is really strong, there are two chances more this week, so we’ll try to win again.”

How it unfolded

The opening stage of the race saw the peloton cover 180km from Castelló on the coast to the city of Vila-Real. With just one third-category climb mid-way through the stage, it was set to be a sprint showdown, the first of three potential sprint stages during this first stage race of the European season.

The break of the day made it away in the opening kilometres, with Cédric Beullens (Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise), Julen Irizar (Fundación-Orbea), Diego Sevilla (Kometa Xstra) and Cristian Scaroni (Gazprom-RusVelo) quickly building up a three-minute lead by the 30km mark.

Back in the peloton, it was Jumbo-Visma and Deceuninck-QuickStep leading the way on behalf of their sprinters.

Irizar led the break over the intermediate sprint point in La Vall d’Uixó, while 10 kilometres later, on the Alto de Marianet, Beullens was first over the line. The Belgian would claim the first king of the mountains jersey of the race, with only one climb on the stage.

From that point, with the sprinters’ teams working in the peloton, the break’s advantage gradually ebbed away. By the 40km to go mark, the QuickStep- and Jumbo-led peloton lay under a minute back.

A flat run-in on the highway to Vila-Real didn’t help the four men out front either and, 20km from the line, the group broke up. Scaroni was the first to ease up and drop back, while Sevilla quickly joined him. 10 kilometres latter, Irizar and Beullens still hung on but, shortly after the banner, it was over as the peloton swept up the pair.

With QuickStep and the indefatigable Tim Declerq still piling on the pace at the front, a number of other WorldTour teams joined them, including Lotto Soudal (for John Degenkolb) and Mitchelton-Scott (for Luka Mezgec). Jumbo-Visma reappeared with 5km remaining, while Ineos also moved up as the roads became more technical towards the finish.

At the 3km mark, Jan Polanc (UAE Team Emirates) tried a solo move but was quickly caught back. Under the flamme rouge, QuickStep retook the mantle, preparing what is usually the strongest lead-out in the peloton. It didn’t disappoint, though Jakobsen was left to sprint perhaps a tough too early.

He looked all set for victory until Groenewegen raced down the other side of the road, displaying perfect timing to snatch victory on the line.

Results :
1 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 4:07:40
2 Fabio Jakobsen (Ned) Deceuninck-Quickstep
3 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
4 Ben Swift (GBr) Team Ineos
5 Juan Jose Lobato del Valle (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea
6 Jon Aberasturi Izaga (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
7 John Degenkolb (Ger) Lotto Soudal
8 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Mitchelton-Scott
9 Ivan Garcia Cortina (Spa) Bahrain McLaren
10 Lawrence Naesen (Bel) AG2R la Mondiale
11 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Israel Start-Up Nation
12 Matteo Trentin (Ita) CCC Team
13 Jaume Sureda Morey (Spa) Burgos-BH
14 Matej Mohoric (Slo) Bahrain McLaren
15 Davide Ballerini (Ita) Deceuninck-Quickstep
16 Alejandro Ropero Molina (Spa) Kometa Xstra
17 Robert Stannard (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
18 Amaury Capiot (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
19 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Ineos
20 Florian Maitre (Fra) Total Direct Energie 0:00:03
21 Wouter Poels (Ned) Bahrain McLaren
22 Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
23 Julien Simon (Fra) Total Direct Energie
24 Pello Bilbao (Spa) Bahrain McLaren
25 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) CCC Team
26 Jack Haig (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
27 Ivan Rovny (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
28 Vincenzo Albanese (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
29 Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team
30 Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
31 Romain Cardis (Fra) Total Direct Energie
32 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team
33 José Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team
34 Ruben Fernandez (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea
35 Márton Dina (Hun) Kometa Xstra
36 Rein Taaramäe (Est) Total Direct Energie
37 Hector Saez Benito (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
38 Edward Ravasi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
39 Victor De la Parte (Spa) CCC Team
40 Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Team Jumbo-Visma
41 Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Mitchelton-Scott
42 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Israel Start-Up Nation
43 Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Lotto Soudal
44 Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Israel Start-Up Nation
45 Luis León Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team
46 Stijn Steels (Bel) Deceuninck-Quickstep
47 Kevin Deltombe (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
48 Yves Lampaert (Bel) Deceuninck-Quickstep
49 Hugo Houle (Can) Astana Pro Team
50 David De la Cruz Melgarejo (Spa) UAE Team Emirates
51 Julien Duval (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale
52 Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain McLaren
53 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R la Mondiale
54 Manuel Peñalver Aniorte (Spa) Burgos-BH
55 Aaron Verwilst (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
56 Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) UAE Team Emirates
57 Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Deceuninck-Quickstep
58 Nikita Stalnov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
59 Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Ineos
60 Willem Jakobus Smit (RSA) Burgos-BH
61 Davide Villella (Ita) Movistar Team
62 Tsgabu Gebremaryam Grmay (Eth) Mitchelton-Scott
63 Ion Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Astana Pro Team
64 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Lotto Soudal
65 Nathan Van Hooydonck (Bel) CCC Team
66 Michael Schär (Swi) CCC Team
67 Diego Rubio Hernandez (Spa) Burgos-BH
68 Tobias Foss (Nor) Team Jumbo-Visma
69 Jorge Arcas (Spa) Movistar Team
70 Mathias Frank (Swi) AG2R la Mondiale
71 Simon Sellier (Fra) Total Direct Energie
72 Matthias Brändle (Aut) Israel Start-Up Nation
73 Rodrigo Contreras Pinzon (Col) Astana Pro Team
74 Daniel Viegas (Por) Kometa Xstra
75 Joan Bou Company (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea
76 Ivan Moreno Sanchez (Spa) Kern Pharma
77 Fabien Grellier (Fra) Total Direct Energie
78 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) AG2R la Mondiale
79 Evgeny Shalunov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
80 Jon Agirre Egaña (Spa) Kern Pharma
81 Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Ineos
82 James Knox (GBr) Deceuninck-Quickstep
83 Serge Pauwels (Bel) CCC Team
84 Giacomo Garavaglia (Ita) Kometa Xstra
85 Dmitrii Strakhov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
86 Oscar Cabedo Carda (Spa) Burgos-BH
87 Enrique Sanz Unzue (Spa) Kern Pharma
88 Oscar Rodriguez Garaicoechea (Spa) Astana Pro Team
89 Gonzalo Serrano Rodriguez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
90 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team Ineos
91 Daniel Martin (Irl) Israel Start-Up Nation
92 Paul Martens (Ger) Team Jumbo-Visma
93 Jaime Castrillo Zapater (Spa) Kern Pharma
94 Kevin Inkelaar (Ned) Bahrain McLaren
95 Mikel Bizkarra Etxegibel (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea
96 Jose Felix Parra Cuerda (Spa) Kern Pharma
97 Txomin Juaristi Arrieta (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea
98 Umberto Orsini (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
99 Jeremy Cabot (Fra) Total Direct Energie
100 Luca Covili (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
101 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Movistar Team
102 Remy Mertz (Bel) Lotto Soudal
103 Scott Davies (GBr) Bahrain McLaren
104 Jonas Gregaard Wilsly (Den) Astana Pro Team
105 Alejandro Osorio Carvajal (Col) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
106 Jefferson Cepeda (Ecu) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
107 Mathias Alexander E. Larsen (Den) Kometa Xstra
108 Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Spa) Team Ineos
109 Filippo Zana (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
110 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Israel Start-Up Nation
111 Tony Gallopin (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale
112 Guy Niv (Isr) Israel Start-Up Nation
113 Antonio Jesus Soto Guirao (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea
114 Sergio Nestor Araiz Michel (Spa) Kern Pharma
115 Jos Van Emden (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
116 Isaac Canton Serrano (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:00:21
117 Antonio Puppio (Ita) Kometa Xstra
118 Frederik Frison (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:27
119 Callum Scotson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:00:30
120 Emiel Planckaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:00:33
121 Simone Velasco (Ita) Gazprom-Rusvelo 0:00:38
122 Sander Armee (Bel) Lotto Soudal
123 Alvaro Cuadros Morata (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
124 Thomas Sprengers (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:00:48
125 Urko Berrade Fernandez (Spa) Kern Pharma 0:01:14
126 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:01:35
127 Tim Declercq (Bel) Deceuninck-Quickstep
128 Cristian Rodriguez Martin (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
129 Kenny De Ketele (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
130 Michael Albasini (Swi) Mitchelton-Scott
131 Dorian Godon (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale 0:01:37
132 Jorge Cubero Galvez (Spa) Burgos-BH
133 Cedric Beullens (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:02:18
134 Brent Van Moer (Bel) Lotto Soudal
135 Sergio Samitier Samitier (Spa) Movistar Team 0:02:37
136 Julen Irizar Laskurain (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea 0:03:01
137 Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) CCC Team 0:03:17
138 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Ineos 0:04:03
139 Petr Rikunov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
140 Francesco Romano (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
141 Diego Pablo Sevilla Lopez (Spa) Kometa Xstra 0:05:24
142 Pascal Eenkhoorn (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:05:37
143 Cristian Scaroni (Ita) Gazprom-Rusvelo 0:07:05
144 Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo 0:09:30
145 Giovanni Carboni (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’ 0:13:44

General Classification after Stage 1 :
1 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 4:07:40
2 Fabio Jakobsen (Ned) Deceuninck-Quickstep
3 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
4 Ben Swift (GBr) Team Ineos
5 Juan Jose Lobato del Valle (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea
6 Jon Aberasturi Izaga (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
7 John Degenkolb (Ger) Lotto Soudal
8 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Mitchelton-Scott
9 Ivan Garcia Cortina (Spa) Bahrain McLaren
10 Lawrence Naesen (Bel) AG2R la Mondiale
11 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Israel Start-Up Nation
12 Matteo Trentin (Ita) CCC Team
13 Jaume Sureda Morey (Spa) Burgos-BH
14 Matej Mohoric (Slo) Bahrain McLaren
15 Davide Ballerini (Ita) Deceuninck-Quickstep
16 Alejandro Ropero Molina (Spa) Kometa Xstra
17 Robert Stannard (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
18 Amaury Capiot (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
19 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Ineos
20 Florian Maitre (Fra) Total Direct Energie 0:00:03
21 Wouter Poels (Ned) Bahrain McLaren
22 Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
23 Julien Simon (Fra) Total Direct Energie
24 Pello Bilbao (Spa) Bahrain McLaren
25 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) CCC Team
26 Jack Haig (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
27 Ivan Rovny (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
28 Vincenzo Albanese (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
29 Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team
30 Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
31 Romain Cardis (Fra) Total Direct Energie
32 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team
33 José Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team
34 Ruben Fernandez (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea
35 Márton Dina (Hun) Kometa Xstra
36 Rein Taaramäe (Est) Total Direct Energie
37 Hector Saez Benito (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
38 Edward Ravasi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
39 Victor De la Parte (Spa) CCC Team
40 Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Team Jumbo-Visma
41 Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Mitchelton-Scott
42 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Israel Start-Up Nation
43 Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Lotto Soudal
44 Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Israel Start-Up Nation
45 Luis León Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team
46 Stijn Steels (Bel) Deceuninck-Quickstep
47 Kevin Deltombe (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
48 Yves Lampaert (Bel) Deceuninck-Quickstep
49 Hugo Houle (Can) Astana Pro Team
50 David De la Cruz Melgarejo (Spa) UAE Team Emirates
51 Julien Duval (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale
52 Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain McLaren
53 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R la Mondiale
54 Manuel Peñalver Aniorte (Spa) Burgos-BH
55 Aaron Verwilst (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
56 Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) UAE Team Emirates
57 Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Deceuninck-Quickstep
58 Nikita Stalnov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
59 Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Ineos
60 Willem Jakobus Smit (RSA) Burgos-BH
61 Davide Villella (Ita) Movistar Team
62 Tsgabu Gebremaryam Grmay (Eth) Mitchelton-Scott
63 Ion Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Astana Pro Team
64 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Lotto Soudal
65 Nathan Van Hooydonck (Bel) CCC Team
66 Michael Schär (Swi) CCC Team
67 Diego Rubio Hernandez (Spa) Burgos-BH
68 Tobias Foss (Nor) Team Jumbo-Visma
69 Jorge Arcas (Spa) Movistar Team
70 Mathias Frank (Swi) AG2R la Mondiale
71 Simon Sellier (Fra) Total Direct Energie
72 Matthias Brändle (Aut) Israel Start-Up Nation
73 Rodrigo Contreras Pinzon (Col) Astana Pro Team
74 Daniel Viegas (Por) Kometa Xstra
75 Joan Bou Company (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea
76 Ivan Moreno Sanchez (Spa) Kern Pharma
77 Fabien Grellier (Fra) Total Direct Energie
78 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) AG2R la Mondiale
79 Evgeny Shalunov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
80 Jon Agirre Egaña (Spa) Kern Pharma
81 Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Ineos
82 James Knox (GBr) Deceuninck-Quickstep
83 Serge Pauwels (Bel) CCC Team
84 Giacomo Garavaglia (Ita) Kometa Xstra
85 Dmitrii Strakhov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
86 Oscar Cabedo Carda (Spa) Burgos-BH
87 Enrique Sanz Unzue (Spa) Kern Pharma
88 Oscar Rodriguez Garaicoechea (Spa) Astana Pro Team
89 Gonzalo Serrano Rodriguez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
90 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team Ineos
91 Daniel Martin (Irl) Israel Start-Up Nation
92 Paul Martens (Ger) Team Jumbo-Visma
93 Jaime Castrillo Zapater (Spa) Kern Pharma
94 Kevin Inkelaar (Ned) Bahrain McLaren
95 Mikel Bizkarra Etxegibel (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea
96 Jose Felix Parra Cuerda (Spa) Kern Pharma
97 Txomin Juaristi Arrieta (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea
98 Umberto Orsini (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
99 Jeremy Cabot (Fra) Total Direct Energie
100 Luca Covili (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
101 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Movistar Team
102 Remy Mertz (Bel) Lotto Soudal
103 Scott Davies (GBr) Bahrain McLaren
104 Jonas Gregaard Wilsly (Den) Astana Pro Team
105 Alejandro Osorio Carvajal (Col) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
106 Jefferson Cepeda (Ecu) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
107 Mathias Alexander E. Larsen (Den) Kometa Xstra
108 Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Spa) Team Ineos
109 Filippo Zana (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
110 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Israel Start-Up Nation
111 Tony Gallopin (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale
112 Guy Niv (Isr) Israel Start-Up Nation
113 Antonio Jesus Soto Guirao (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea
114 Sergio Nestor Araiz Michel (Spa) Kern Pharma
115 Jos Van Emden (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
116 Isaac Canton Serrano (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:00:21
117 Antonio Puppio (Ita) Kometa Xstra
118 Frederik Frison (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:27
119 Callum Scotson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:00:30
120 Emiel Planckaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:00:33
121 Simone Velasco (Ita) Gazprom-Rusvelo 0:00:38
122 Sander Armee (Bel) Lotto Soudal
123 Alvaro Cuadros Morata (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
124 Thomas Sprengers (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:00:48
125 Urko Berrade Fernandez (Spa) Kern Pharma 0:01:14
126 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:01:35
127 Tim Declercq (Bel) Deceuninck-Quickstep
128 Cristian Rodriguez Martin (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
129 Kenny De Ketele (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
130 Michael Albasini (Swi) Mitchelton-Scott
131 Dorian Godon (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale 0:01:37
132 Jorge Cubero Galvez (Spa) Burgos-BH
133 Cedric Beullens (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:02:18
134 Brent Van Moer (Bel) Lotto Soudal
135 Sergio Samitier Samitier (Spa) Movistar Team 0:02:37
136 Julen Irizar Laskurain (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea 0:03:01
137 Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) CCC Team 0:03:17
138 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Ineos 0:04:03
139 Petr Rikunov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
140 Francesco Romano (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
141 Diego Pablo Sevilla Lopez (Spa) Kometa Xstra 0:05:24
142 Pascal Eenkhoorn (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:05:37
143 Cristian Scaroni (Ita) Gazprom-Rusvelo 0:07:05
144 Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo 0:09:30
145 Giovanni Carboni (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’ 0:13:44